The Christmas Can-Can

Here's a Christmas cure-all, an ear salve for those who have tired already of hearing holiday songs, and there are many days ahead. Vocalese group Straight No Chaser feels your pain. From their tune "The Christmas Can-Can":

"Heard this same song 20 times and it's only Halloween.

" So we offer a continually updated playlist (12+ hours worth at this posting) of originals that probably haven't been played to death, and standards that are different enough to not be annoying (mostly). It's an eclectic mix, so every song won't fit every taste. But there are 200+ songs here-- there are more than enough to give anyone some respite from moldy oldies. Some of this music isn't strictly holiday music, being seasonal or with a thematic message, but virtually every song was released on a Christmastime album.

 

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

It's as if jazz singer Etta Jones has been scrubbed from the collective memory, confused with and overshadowed by the more famous Etta James or another singer named Etta Jones, who's slightly older and performed with The Dandridge Sisters, one of whom was Dorothy Dandridge who went on to have successful movie career including being the first African American woman to get an Oscar nomination, and to further muddle the Etta Joneses, IMDB.com conflates* Jones-the-lead-singer's biographical info with Jones-the-trio-member's (date of birth, husband, date and cause of death).

The jazz singer who fronted jazz combos, Jones put out an amazing Christmas record which includes this 8-minute stroll through "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" featuring tasty solos by members of the band… it swings.

*at this writing